Everyone’s charitable giving holds significant personal meaning and giving is best accomplished with a thoughtful, knowledgeable plan. If your New Year’s resolutions will include becoming more philanthropic in a way that is both financially sound and personally rewarding, a donor advised fund is a great tool to help you accomplish those goals.

A donor advised fund is a philanthropic giving account that will be professionally managed by our staff, allowing you to support numerous charities in a convenient, personally-named account. The ease of a donor advised fund also allows you to make tax-deductible donations at any time and then recommend charitable gifts at your discretion. As year-end approaches and you look ahead to 2015, a donor advised fund will allow you to plan and maximize the tax benefits of gifts of appreciated stock or cash, as you receive an immediate tax deduction on any money put into the fund.

Often times, individuals are passionate about charitable giving, specifically wanting to support causes close to their hearts, such as Zionism, environmental advocacy, cancer research, and many more, but find it overwhelming to decide where to give their money to. Our staff can help advise you on excellent organizations doing work in the fields you care about. Additionally, we are diligent in ensuring that all grant distributions go to financially sound organizations, assuring you that funds are distributed wisely.

As the ideal choice for the well-informed charitable giver, a donor advised fund seamlessly integrates mitzvot into a hectic lifestyle. Our staff provides support for both the logistical and financial aspects of your charitable giving. Making a grant recommendation simply consists of filling out a short form through mail, fax, or online, and our staff takes care of the rest. Giving to charities that you care deeply about is simplified with a donor advised fund.

As 2015 approaches, resolutions for the New Year are often made not only for ourselves, but also for our families. Charitable giving is a value often passed down l’dor v’dor, from one generation to the next, and a donor advised fund can be an optimal way to demonstrate that virtue. Many choose to open a fund in honor of their children’s b’nai mitzvah, allowing friends and family to contribute gifts to each child’s tzedakah. Furthermore, a fund can have multiple advisers, allowing for an entire family to be involved in making grant recommendations and engaging in meaningful conversations about charitable giving. A donor advised fund is the perfect way to further continue a culture of giving in your family as we begin a new year.

As the fastest growing segment of giving in the United States, donor advised funds contributions increased by more than 77 percent over the last year. Donors at all levels, throughout Chicago and the U.S., have discovered how valuable these funds are for their tax planning and how easy and convenient donor advised funds make their charitable giving. In 2013 alone, over $28.6 million was distributed to worthy charities in the United States and around the world from 834 donor advised funds housed at the Federation.

As we begin 2015, consider using a donor advised fund as an extremely helpful vehicle to accomplish your philanthropic resolutions. A donor advised fund is a tool that can help you and your family streamline and simplify your charitable giving, allowing you to focus on the important part of tzedakah-making the world a better place.

If you have any questions or are seeking more information about opening a fund, contact Amy Saltzman at (312) 357-4917 or [email protected].

Amy Saltzman is the endowment associate for the Donor Advised Programs at the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.